Download Psychopharmacology:

The use of drugs to treat psychiatric
disorders is often the foundation for a
successful treatment approach that can
also include other types of intervention
such as psychotherapy and behavior
therapy.
 As knowledge about the biology of
normal and abnormal brain function
continues to grow , the practice of
clinical psychopharmacology continues
to evolve in scope and effectiveness..
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The practice of using drug is not a simple
issue ,many variables are involved
,including:
 Drug selection
 Administration
 The psychodynamic meaning to the patient and
family and environmental influences.
 The patient, family ,nursing staff must be
instructed on the reasons for the drug
treatment as well as the expected benefit and
potential risks
 it may be useful to explain the theoretical basis
of the pharmacotherapy.
Drugs must be used in effective
dosages ,
 for sufficient periods as determined
by previous clinical investigations and
clinical experience .
 in using too low dose or too short
duration and only exposing the
patient to some risk without
therapeutical benefit.
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Psychotropic drugs ,psychoactive drugs,
psychotheraputic drugs:
 Antipsychotic drugs (neuroleptics).
 Antidepressant drugs.
 Mood stabilizers.
 Anti-anxiety drugs or anxiolytics.
This is not that valid division because :
 Drugs of one class can be used for
disorders of another class as
antidepessants used in anxiety and
anxiolyics in depression or psychosis.
Drugs from all categories used for
treatment of disorders not previously
treated by drugs e.g. eating disorders.
 Drugs not included in these categories
can be used to treat psychiatric
disorders as propranolol , gabapentin
..etc.
 Some terms are overlaping as
anxiolytics (decrease anxiety), sedative
(calming or relaxing effect),hypnotic
(produce sleep).
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Pharmacodynamics: concern the effect
of drugs on the biological action , the
major phamacodynamic consedrations
include :
Receptor mechanisms.
The dose response curve .
The theraputic index.
The development of tolerance
,dependance and withdrawal
phenomenon.
The receptor for a drug can be defined
as the cellular component to which the
drug binds and through which the drug
initiates its pharmacodynamic effects
on the body.
 The drug can be an agonist(stimulant
of the biological activity of the
receptor) or an antagonist(inhibits the
biological activity) e.g. most antipsychotics are D2 antagonists.
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The dose response curve plots the drug
concentration ratios against the effects
of the drug.
 The potency of a drug refers to the
relative dose required to achieve certain
effects,e.g. halodol is more potent than
chlorpromazine regarding therapeutic
effect , however they are equal in their
clinical efficacy that is the maximum
clinical response achievable by
administration of the drug..
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Therapeutic index: is a relative measure
of the toxicity or safety of a drug and is
defined as the ratio of the median toxic
dose to the median effective dose.
The median toxic dose: is the dose at
which 50% of patients experience a
specific toxic effect.
The median effective dose: is the dose at
which 50% of patients have a specified
therapeutic effect. The therapeutic index
for haldol is high while that for lithium is
low so it requires monitoring.
Both interindividual and intraindividual
variations can affect the response to a
specific drug, the patient may be
hyporeactive ,normal reactive, or
hyperreactive to a drug.
 Idiosyncratic drug response occur
when a patient experiences a particular
unusual or rare effect from a drug e.g.
developing agitation when given
diazepam.
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 Tolerance:
 decrease responsiveness to a
drug as it is administrated over
time , may be associated with
physical dependence and
withdrawal phenomenon.
Concern how the body handles a drug,
 Absorption:
 psychotherapeutic drugs reach the brain
through the blood stream. Orally
administrated drug dissolve in the fluid
of the GIT depending on their lipid
solubility , the GIT local PH, motility and
surface area and are then absorbed
into the blood ,drugs which affect
acidity or motility will affect the
absorption.
Parenteral administration can achieve
therapeutic plasma concentrations more
rapidly than oral administration.
 Emulsified drug in an insoluble matrix
when given I.M. can sustain the drug’s
gradual release for several weeks (depot
preparations), I.V. is the quickest to
reach therapeutic concentrations , but it
also carries high risk of sudden and life
threatening adverse effects.
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Distribution and bioavailability:
 Drugs that circulate bound to plasma
proteins are called protein bound, that
circulate unbound are called free.
 Only free drugs can pass through the
blood-brain barrier .
 The distribution of a drug to the brain is
governed by ;
 The brain regional blood flow .
 The blood –brain barrier .
 And the drug’s affinity for its receptors in
the brain.
High cerebral flow , high lipid solubility and
high receptor affinity promote the
therapeutic actions of the drug .
 A drug volume of distribution :
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 is a measure of the apparent space in the body
available to contain the drug, which can vary with
age ,sex, adipose tissue , and disease state.
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bioavailability:
 refers to the fraction of the total amount of
administrated drug that can subsequently
recovered from the blood stream.
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Metabolism and excretion:
 The four major metabolic routes for a drug
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are oxidation, reduction, hydrolysis and
conjugation.
Metabolism usually yields inactive
metabolites that are more readily excreted ,
however metabolism also transform many
inactive prodrugs into therapeutically active
metabolites,
the liver is the principal site of metabolism,
bile , feces and urine are the major route of
excretion.
Psycho tropics are also excreted in sweat ,
saliva, tears, and breast milk.
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Quantitation of metabolism and
excretion :four major quantities,
 Time of peak plasma concentration :
 The time between the administration of a drug
and the appearance of peak plasma
concentration , it vary depending on the route
of administration and the rate of absorption.
 The half life :
 the time taken for metabolism and excretion of
a drug to reduce the plasma concentration by
half.
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The first pass effect:
 Refer to the initial metabolism of orally
administrated drugs within the portal
circulation of the liver and is quantitated as
the fraction of absorbed drug reaching the
systemic circulation unmetabolized.
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Clearance:
 is the measure of the amount of the drug
excreted from the body in a specific period
of time.
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Cytochrome P-450 enzyme:
 Most psychotropics are oxidized by this
enzyme system.
 These enzymes act in the hepatocyte and the
cells of the intestine , so hepatitis or
cirrhosis may affect its action ,
 some drugs cause induction so lead to
decrease concentration of drug or cause
inhibition leads to increase concentration..